A Stroke of the Pen is a lovely collection of previously undiscovered Terry Pratchett short stories. Originally published in the 1970s and 80s under a handful of pseudonyms, these stories show off some of Pratchett’s earliest fiction writing. And you can immediately see some of the hallmarks of his later writing. His humor, his gift for worldbuilding, and even some of his political commentary. None of these stories are Discworld-adjacent, necessarily. But a lot of them lay the groundwork for much of Pratchett’s later work.
Even if you’re not super familiar with his later work, though, this is a delightful collection of short stories in its own right. The tales are quick, breezy, fun reads. Full of magic and aliens and general weirdness. It’s the literary equivalent of wrapping up in a warm blanket with a cup of soup. Some personal highlights are “The Fossil Beach”, “How Scrooge Saw the Spectral Light”, “The New Father Christmas”, “The Haunted Steamroller”, “The Blackburry Thing”, and “The Quest for the Keys”
Overall, A Stroke of the Pen is a delightful read from start to finish, perfect for longtime fans of Pratchett’s work and those wholly new to his writing.
4.5 out of 5 wands.
Disclaimer: a review copy was provided by the publisher and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own.
Companion books to movies and TV shows are always a bit of a dice roll when it comes to their quality. While they’re usually filled with interesting anecdotes and tons of pictures, they have a habit of feeling little more than a fluff piece used as an advertisement for that film/TV series. Luckily, this isn’t the case with either of the two books released as tie-ins for Amazon Prime and BBC’s recent adaptation of Good Omens. Both books – a traditional companion and a book featuring all of Neil Gaiman’s scripts for the series – are excellent reads, managing to be both informative and worthwhile reads even for those who know everything there is to know about the series and its creation.
I love Neil Gaiman’s books. Obviously. I talk about them all the time. I write religiously about the American Gods TV series. One of the first Gaiman novels I ever read was his collaboration with Terry Pratchett (of Discworld fame), Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. It was one of those books that felt akin to Douglas Adams’ novels and it was a book that I really loved. Naturally, I’d heard rumors of it being turned into a film for years, though nothing ever seemed to come of it until Amazon Prime and BBC announced they were co-producing a six-episode adaptation, written and executive produced by Gaiman, himself. I’m a big fan of authors getting to adapt their own stories for various mediums – though, often, many authors don’t do such a great job with those adaptations as they don’t understand the constraints of whichever medium the story is being adapted for. Gaiman, however, has plenty of experience writing for film, TV, comics, and prose, so if any author could successfully translate their novel into a visual medium, it would be Neil Gaiman. Thankfully, that’s exactly what he did with this adaptation, too. These six episodes of Good Omens are so delightfully accurate to the novel, so immensely entertaining, and so well put together that it is just so joyous to watch. This is one of those shows that I might revisit yearly just for the hell of it. (Mild spoilers for both the novel and the show ahead!)
Thoroughly Modern Reviewer 